Lochaber and the Rannoch Moor

Lochaber (Scottish Gaelic: Loch Abar) is a name applied to a part of the Scottish Highlands. Lochaber is now also used to refer to a much wider area, one of the 16 ward management areas of the Highland Council of Scotland and one of eight former local government districts of the two-tier Highland region. The main town of Lochaber is Fort William. Other moderate sized settlements in Lochaber include Mallaig, Ballachulish and Glencoe.

The Moor of Rannoch

Rannoch Moor is an expanse of around 50 square miles (130 km²) of boggy moorland to the west of Loch Rannoch and edged by mountains. This expanse was at the heart of the last significant icefield in the UK at the end of the last ice age. Once the ice had melted, the reduction of weight on the Earth’s crust resulted in a rise in the land still estimated to be around 2–3 mm per year.

Glen Coe

North of the moor is the famous scenic valley of Glen Coe. The glen is U-shaped, formed by an ice age glacier, about 12.5 kilometres (7 3⁄4 miles) long with the floor of the glen being less than 700 metres (3⁄8 mi) wide, narrowing sharply at the Pass of Glen Coe. Standing at the junction of Glen Coe and Glen Etive, which carries the River Etive from the Moor to the long sea inlet of Loch Etive, is the most recognisable mountain in Scotland, Buachaille Etive Mor (the Great Herdsman of Etive).